50,000 hospitality venues won’t be able to reopen after lockdown

Over 50,000 hospitality venues won’t be able to reopen and trade under the government’s tier system when England comes out of lockdown on 2 December.

As reported by Harpers, according to on-trade specialist CGA and management consultant AlixPartners, over 50,000 on-trade venues in England will be forced to remain closed when lockdown ends in England on Wednesday, as they will be unable to trade under the government’s new tier-based restrictions.

According to CGA, 36,648 hospitality venues are located in tier three regions, meaning they will only be able to operate a delivery and takeaway service.

Harpers reports that 55,502 licenced venues are in tier two areas, where alcohol is only allowed to be served with a “substantial” meal.

With over a third of the tier two venues unable to trade under the new restrictions, CGA puts the total number of hospitality venues due to remain closed once lockdown ends on 2 December at over 50,000.

Only 2,227 on-trade venues (accounting for 2% of England’s licensed premises) are located in tier one regions, where the restrictions are the least strict.

“With nearly two in five English sites unable to welcome guests and more than half subject to major constraints, December is going to be difficult in the extreme,” Karl Chessell, business unit director for food and retail at CGA, told Harpers.

“Hospitality has worked incredibly hard to give people safe experiences since July, but the tiered system in the most important trading month of the year is going to place the future of many of them in jeopardy,” he added.

As it stands, 31 areas in the England will enter tier three on Wednesday, with 38 due to enter tier two and only three areas entering tier one.